Good evening Wisbirders,I took my son out for a bird walk at Dorothy Carnes County Park (part ofRose Lake State Natural Area) today. We visited the west unit of the park,which has a nice observation platform overlooking Rose Lake, and looked forbirds (and worms, and snails, and flowers, and whatever else captured hisattention - he is quite good at spotting garlic mustard now) out on thelake and in the adjacent woods.

We were overtaken by a nice wave of warblers in the woods. Most of thesewere yellow-rumps, and there were many, but mixed in with them were palm,chestnut-sided, blackpoll, Tennessee, and black-throated green warblers. Isaw my first scarlet tanagers of the spring (two males and a female) and myfirst red-eyed vireo.

The lake had Canada geese, wood duck, American coot, pied-billed grebe,sandhill crane, red-winged blackbird, and loads of swallows swirling aroundover the water (I saw, tree, barn, and rough-winged). There were blackterns flying around the far side of the lake. A handful of pelicans werecircling and a bald eagle flew over. I saw two Eastern kingbirds in themarshy vegetation along the shore.

It was nice to see some Canada and rue anemones, Jacob's ladder, wildgeranium, mayapple, early meadow rue, jack-in-the-pulpit, and trilliumsblooming.

A brown thrasher, my first of the spring, flew across the road in front ofthe car and into some shrubs as we were leaving.